The New "God Bless America"

SecDef Robert Gates gave a truly excellent speech two days ago. It was at the Eisenhower Library in Kansas; it revived and applied to modern circumstances Eisenhower's famed warnings about the effects of untrammeled military spending; and -- if a fair indication of the Administration's and the Defense Department's intentions -- it gave reason for public optimism. The transcript is here, and it most certainly is worth reading. I've meant to mention the speech in a list of five or six "shockingly sensible statements about security" that have cropped up recently. I "will" do that in the next day or so -- perhaps during tomorrow's long flight to Shanghai.

However.

Brian Hurley, a retired Air Force officer, writes to point out one rhetorical device that is common in DC-bigshot speeches and that Gates in particular has really run into the ground. It appears in the standard "light humor" intro to his speeches -- in this form at the Ike event:

I'm pleased to be here for several reasons. First, it's always a treat to be someplace other than Washington, D.C. - the only place where, as I like to say, you can see a prominent person walking down lover's lane holding his own hand. Second, it's even better to return to my home state of Kansas - a place of little pretense and ample common sense....

What's wrong with this commonsensical observation? Hurley explains:

There is a classic opening in Gates' speech [he is actually referring to an earlier one I praised] that rankles me as much as
"and may God bless America" rankles you. It's the obligatory "any place
is better than being in Washington" jibe.

I think when leaders from Washington repeat that sort of thing, they are simply
reinforcing a cheap stereotype and actually -- in perhaps small ways -- undermining
their own ability to get things done. Yes, there are plenty of stories and deals that
can make you sick. My own experience - in both the Air Force and in the private
sector outside of Washington is...it's happening everywhere. Washington is just
a bigger stage. But, when our own political leaders do this (and the senior people
who are appointed by the elected leaders), we diminish the many very good things
that many good people in Washington and in government generally are trying to
accomplish. We reduce confidence in government to make needed changes,
and we sustain the impression that Washington is a hopeless mess (auidence: "heck, if Secy
Gates can't change the culture, we're doomed").
It's a cheap and harmful device. No one is blessing America here...

Hurley is right. I am sure that if Gates thought about it for a minute he'd recognize that as well. (For why this is like "God Bless America," see here and passim.) These speeches are too good to need any gimmickry.

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James Fallows is a staff writer for The Atlantic and has written for the magazine since the late 1970s. He has reported extensively from outside the United States and once worked as President Carter's chief speechwriter. He and his wife, Deborah Fallows, are the authors of the new book Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America, which has been a New York Times best seller and is the basis of a forthcoming HBO documentary.